Border Patrol Seized Nearly $100M Worth of Drugs In a Weekend

The United States Border Patrol had "another weekend of hard work", USBP Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted on Monday.

Over the weekend, border patrol agents seized more than $97 million worth of narcotics. Ortiz did not specify which types of narcotics were seized, but common narcotics crossing the border include heroin and fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic substance that is defined as being 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Border patrol agencies have seen an increase in the amount of fentanyl crossing the border since President Joe Biden eased border restrictions earlier this year. According to a New York Post article, after border restrictions were eased, border patrol agencies began experiencing "dramatic increases in single adults" attempting to cross the border as well as an increase in migrants smuggling drugs across the border.

Fentanyl is highly addictive and can cause death if the user overdoses or if the drug is mixed with other substances such as alcohol or heroin. Ortiz's announcement comes just 10 days after Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol seized 25 pounds of liquid fentanyl in Texas, which totaled $1.8 million. The fentanyl was enough to kill 5.665 million people, according to a tweet from chief patrol agent Gloria Chavez.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican politicians have repeatedly slammed Biden and his administration for failing to protect the U.S.-Mexico border as an increase of narcotics and synthetic drugs like fentanyl make their way into the United States. Shortly after Biden took office, the White House published a webpage that said the Biden administration was "working to rebuild our immigration system after four years of chaos and mismanagement," but the president has been hotly criticized for what Republicans are calling a "border crisis".

The longest stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border is in Texas. Abbott has long criticized Biden for not acting strongly enough and he and other Republicans have tried to prove their point by busing immigrants to Washington, D.C., or flying them to Martha's Vineyard in Delaware.

According to Ortiz, in addition to the nearly $100 million worth of narcotics, the USBP also seized four firearms, one of which was identified as stolen; encountered three gang members, two sex offenders, two murderers and two people with warrants. Ortiz also announced there had been one injury to a child but didn't provide any more details.

Other drugs often crossing the Mexico border include cocaine, marijuana, meth and heroin.

Newsweek reached out to the United States Border Patrol for comment.